Well, it’s come and gone and still the birds seem to sing just as sweetly in the trees and life is going on as usual.
Google’s April 21st algorithm updates (without the zoo animal name this time) have happened as some web owners still hold their breath hoping they’ll still have their page rank when the dust settles.
What to Expect: The Road Ahead
But what will the result be for the average website? Is it still something to worry about? Google emphasized mobile-friendliness on this latest algorithm change roll-out and stated that sites should get mobile-friendly or risk losing their rank in their search engine.
Does Quality Still Rule Over Mobile-Friendliness?
But they also stated that, when all is said and done, it was still great content that would win the day. In this Q/A session Google presented shortly after the roll-out, Google announced (see #9) that sites will still be ranked high if they are of high-quality, even if they don’t pass the mobile-friendly test.
Google’s Holy Grail
You have to hand it to Google-for every new algorithm update, ranking regulation, or change they make to their system, they always provide the tools to fix problems that keep you from ranking high.
So there is no reason why you can’t beat the system with the tools Google provides for you themselves. One such tool I call the “holy grail” of Google’s toolbox is Google Analytics.
The Power of Google Analytics
I recently took on a video project to create 12 video lessons on Google Analytics that was published on a well-known on line learning site’s platform for students to take. During my development of this course, I learned even more about Google Analytics and what it can mean for a website.
You can conduct experiments, do split A/B testing to determine which version of a website is performing better with users, determine which data you want to have reported each month, and focus on conversions, demographics, and more.
There’s no doubt that this tool is something every on line business should have. It is the best tool you have to help you stay in the know on what Google expects and it helps you increase your traffic and helps you set goals for your on line business as well.
In the Aftermath
As for the recent Google updates, life will go on and people will figure it out, or risk being dropped in rank from Google’s search engine.
In the meantime, Bing, Microsoft’s counterpart to the larger Google search engine giant, is announcing that they will be rolling out a similar mobile-friendly update to their search engine, but they are not saying when.
Complete with similar mobile-friendly testing tools and aids for web owners, their approach is to soften the blow for web masters in the hope of preventing a repeat of the countdown to mobilegeddon experienced with the Google updates.
